International Cooperation to Counter Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking through Special Investigative Techniques

The adoption of international coordination measures to spread the use of ‘special investigative techniques’ to combat organised crime effectively is encouraged by Article 20 of the UNTOC. This article discusses, firstly, the main features of ‘undercover operations’ involving, or taking place in, more than one State. It then examines the Italian implementation legal framework, as amended by a new law passed in 2019, seeking to establish whether and to what extent Italy is complying with its international commitments in this field.

The Cellular Composition of the Uveal Immune Environment

The uveal tract consists of the iris, the ciliary body and the choroid; these three distinct tissues form a continuous layer within the eye. Uveitis refers to inflammation of any region of the uveal tract. Despite being grouped together anatomically, the iris, ciliary body and choroid are distinct functionally, and inflammatory diseases may affect only one part and not the others. Cellular structure of tissues direct their function, and understanding the cellular basis of the immune environment of a tissue in health, the “steady state” on which the perturbations of disease are superimposed, is vital to understanding the pathogenesis of those diseases. A contemporary understanding of the immune system accepts that haematopoietic and yolk sac derived leukocytes, though vital, are not the only players of importance. An array of stromal cells, connective tissue cells such as fibroblasts and endothelial cells, may also have a role in the inflammatory reaction seen in several immune-mediated diseases. In this review we summarise what is known about the cellular composition of the uveal tract and the roles these disparate cell types have to play in immune homeostasis. We also discuss some unanswered questions surrounding the constituents of the resident leukocyte population of the different uveal tissues, and we look ahead to the new understanding that modern investigative techniques such as single cell transcriptomics, multi-omic data integration and highly-multiplexed imaging techniques may bring to the study of the uvea and uveitis, as they already have to other immune mediated inflammatory diseases.

Study of Ground Investigation Data along the Brunei Temburong Bridge Alignment

The Brunei Temburong Bridge (BTB) is an iconic project connecting Brunei Muara and Temburong districts in Brunei over a length of 30 km. The bridge crosses from Brunei Muara across Brunei Bay to Temburong. A key aim of the BTB project was the development of Temburong district, being prior the more isolated district, because of not having a direct land link to the other districts. This study reviews the geology of soil materials and sedimentary rocks along the bridge alignment based on 164 boreholes drilled for ground investigation. Standard Penetration Test, Rock Quality Designation and Fracture Index data were evaluated to interpret soil materials and sedimentary rocks along the alignment. Borehole data was used to generate lithological cross sections along the alignment providing an overview of geology. The geology encountered is extremely heterogenous, with low strength sediments encountered at depth of up to 80 m and more e.g., at the Temburong section. Rock quality designation vs. Fracture Index did not show a strong correlation likely due to the extreme heterogeneity in particular for the Brunei Bay and Temburong sections. The study demonstrates the importance of a closely spaced investigative drilling and sampling program for major construction programs which was successfully achieved for this project. Other investigative techniques such as geophysical methods could be highly useful for future projects. Considering economic and environmental reasons these techniques could be very useful to map the top of the bedrock even under highly heterogeneous ground conditions.

Blood Will Tell: What Hematological Analyses Can Reveal About Fish Welfare

Blood analyses provide substantial information about the physiological aspects of animal welfare assessment, including the activation status of the neuroendocrine and immune system, acute and long-term impacts due to adverse husbandry conditions, potential diseases, and genetic predispositions. However, fish blood is still not routinely analyzed in research or aquaculture for the assessment of health and/or welfare. Over the years, the investigative techniques have evolved from antibody-based or PCR-based single-parameter analyses to now include transcriptomic, metabolomic, and proteomic approaches and from hematological observations to fluorescence-activated blood cell sorting in high-throughput modes. The range of testing techniques established for blood is now broader than for any other biogenic test material. Evaluation of the particular characteristics of fish blood, such as its cell composition, the nucleation of distinct blood cells, or the multiple isoforms of certain immune factors, requires adapted protocols and careful attention to the experimental designs and interpretation of the data. Analyses of fish blood can provide an integrated picture of the endocrine, immunological, reproductive, and genetic functions under defined environmental conditions and treatments. Therefore, the scarcity of high-throughput approaches using fish blood as a test material for fish physiology studies is surprising. This review summarizes the wide range of techniques that allow monitoring of informative fish blood parameters that are modulated by different stressors, conditions, and/or treatments. We provide a compact overview of several simple plasma tests and of multiparametric analyses of fish blood, and we discuss their potential use in the assessment of fish welfare and pathologies.

Identification of changes in mechanical properties of sandstone subjected to high temperature: meso-and micro-scale testing and analysis

Material properties largely depend on their structure, and are strongly dependent on the scale of observation. Under the influence of various processes, the structure of a material can undergo evolution, which leads to major changes in the mechanical parameters and morphology of the medium. To understand the behaviour of a given material exposed to the influence of various factors, e.g. loading and temperature treatment, and to be able to modify it appropriately, it is crucial to recognize its structure both in the scale of engineering applications and at the micro-scale. The article proposes a procedure for assessing changes in the structure of sandstone exposed to the temperature treatment. The presented procedure allows the morphology of the material to be evaluated and the influence of temperature treatment on mechanical parameters of rocks to be analysed, by combining use of different laboratory techniques. The changes in rock material have been characterized using three investigative techniques, i.e. a uniaxial compression test, nanoindentation and micro-computed tomography. The uniaxial compression tests were carried out for 11 different temperature values in the range of 23–1000 °C, which enabled the determination of the change in uniaxial compressive strength and Young’s modulus of the sandstone as a function of temperature. Micro-scale laboratory tests were utilised to identify changes in the mechanical and morphological parameters of the sandstone exposed to the temperature of 1000 °C. The results were referred to those obtained for the reference samples, i.e. not subjected to heating (T = 23 °C). Comparison of the results showed an evident relation between the microstructure changes and the mesoscopic properties.

Hate crime, policing, and the deployment of racial and cultural diversity

This paper examines how diversity is mobilized and deployed as a form of hate crime response in the York Regional Police Service, and how commitments to racial and cultural diversity embedded in the framework of hate crime policy are interpreted by police officers engaged in the frontline policing of hate crimes. Hate crime policies and specialized training programs in Ontario were developed around two central foci: 1) traditional policing concerns involving proper investigative techniques, evidence collection, documentation, and officer roles and responsibilities; and 2) emerging concerns regarding victim care, community relations, and commitments to racial and cultural diversity. Drawing on interviews with officers stationed at all five of the Service’s divisional locations, this paper shows how commitments to diversity embedded in the Service’s approach to hate crime exist along-side, and in conflict with, officer perceptions that see diversity as a source of the problem of hate. Este artículo examina la forma en que se moviliza y despliega la diversidad como una forma de respuesta a los delitos de odio en el servicio de policía regional de York (Canadá), y la forma en que el compromiso con la diversidad racial y cultural, que forma parte del marco de la política sobre delitos de odio, es interpretado por los miembros de la policía que están en primera línea de la lucha contra los delitos de odio. Las políticas y entrenamientos especializados sobre delitos de odio en Ontario se desarrollaron alrededor de dos focos principales: 1) la preocupación tradicional de la policía por las técnicas apropiadas de investigación, la recolección de pruebas y documentación y los roles y responsabilidades de los y las policías; y 2) nuevas preocupaciones acerca del cuidado de las víctimas, las relaciones sociales, y el compromiso con la diversidad racial y cultural. Partiendo de entrevistas con miembros de la policía destinados en las cinco divisiones del Servicio, el artículo muestra cómo el compromiso con la diversidad inserto en el abordaje policial al delito de odio existe en paralelo y en conflicto con las percepciones de los y las policías de la diversidad como fuente del problema del odio.